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2024-09-26

001 - Your First Rust Program

How to Create and Run a Rust File

If you’re coming from Python, you’re used to python script.py. In Rust, source code is compiled first, then executed.

Why this matters for Python developers

  • Rust has a build step, which catches many issues before runtime.
  • cargo is the standard workflow (project creation, build, run, test).
  • Learning this flow early makes every later lesson smoother.

Learning goals

By the end of this lesson, you should be able to:

  • Install and verify the Rust toolchain.
  • Create and run a Rust project with cargo.
  • Understand when to use cargo vs rustc.

Concepts in 5 minutes

  • rustup: toolchain manager.
  • cargo: Rust package manager and build tool.
  • rustc: low-level compiler command (useful, but not daily default).

Step 1: Install and verify Rust

Install via rustup and verify:

rustc --version
cargo --version

cargo new hello_rust
cd hello_rust
cargo run

This creates project files and runs the default src/main.rs.

Expected output includes:

Hello, world!

Step 3: Edit and rerun

Replace src/main.rs with:

fn main() {
    println!("Hello, Rust!");
}

Run again:

cargo run

Optional: single-file compile with rustc

Useful for quick experiments:

rustc main.rs

Run binary:

./main      # Linux/macOS
main.exe    # Windows (cmd/powershell)

Common first-run issues

  • cargo not found: reopen terminal after install, or ensure Rust is in PATH.
  • Permission issues on Unix: check shell profile setup from rustup installer.
  • Wrong folder: cargo run must be inside a project with Cargo.toml.

Quick practice

  1. Change output to "Hello from Python to Rust!" and run.
  2. Add a second println! line and run again.

Recap

Use cargo as the default workflow. Reach for rustc only when you specifically want single-file compilation.

Next lesson: core syntax and structure.

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